Energy Conversion to Fire 300 as Uni-Solar Auction Fails

May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Energy Conversion Devices Inc., a U.S.
solar manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy protection in
February, will fire 300 employees because it didn’t receive any
acceptable bids for an auction of its United Solar Ovonic LLC
unit.

The cuts will start immediately and the company will retain
a smaller staff to manage the bankruptcy process, Auburn Hills,
Michigan-based Energy Conversion said today in a statement.

The company canceled the May 8 auction for its thin-film
photovoltaic panel unit and won’t continue a court-approved sale
process, according to the statement. Energy Conversion is one of
four U.S. solar companies to seek bankruptcy protection in the
past year.

“Today’s announcement is one that everyone here at ECD and
Uni-Solar worked extremely hard to avoid,” Julian Hawkins,
president and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

Calls to Kim Paulson, a spokeswoman, weren’t answered and
an e-mail was returned with an error message.